@article{ref1,
title="Motorcycle helmet-use laws and head injury prevention",
journal="JAMA journal of the American Medical Association",
year="1992",
author="Sacks, Jeffrey J. and Sosin, D. M.",
volume="267",
number="12",
pages="1649-1651",
abstract="OBJECTIVE--To rebut criticism of a previous study of motorcycle helmet-use laws through reanalysis with improved measures of exposure, stratification for regional differences in crash risk, and addressing of total motorcycle-related mortality and the grounds for targeting motorcyclists for helmet-use laws. DESIGN--Death certificate-based correlational study of motorcycle-related deaths and motorcycle helmet-use laws. POPULATION STUDIED--United States resident deaths from 1979 through 1986. RESULTS--Regardless of the denominator used (resident population, motorcycle registrations, or motorcycle crashes), states with full helmet-use laws had consistently lower head injury-associated death rates than states without such laws, even when stratified by region. Total motorcycle-related mortality, however, was similar between law groups. On a registration or crash basis, motorcyclists who died in crashes had a fivefold to sixfold higher risk of head injury than those who died using any other type of motor vehicle. CONCLUSION--Full helmet-use laws were consistently associated with lower rates of head injury-associated death. While disagreement remains on the acceptability of the legislative approach, the scientific basis for motorcycle helmet-use laws as a head injury prevention tool appears sound.",
language="",
issn="0098-7484",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}